The
today's autonomy flag, introduced on the occasion of the transfer of the crown-colony to
China, is red and shows a white five-foliaged Bauhinia Blossom in the centre. The Bauhinia
is the City Flower of Hong Kong already since the Britisch colonial time. Red is not only
the colour of communism, coming over the land with the transfer to China, but it is the
colour of the chinese Han-People, too.

It was
already introduced in 1865 and showed finally the on the 25th of January 1959 awarded coat
of arms inside a white disk. The coat of arms showed on the scutcheon two chinese
sailboats with ever three masts and over there in the red shield-head a golden "seas
crown". Shield holders are one lion (Great Britain) and a dragon (China).

war ships fly the "White
Ensign" (naval flag), a white flag often with an uninterrupted red St. George's-Cross
and with the Union Jack in the upper staff quadrant of the flag,

merchant ships fly a "Red
Ensign" (also named "Civil Ensign" => civil flag, the real merchant
flag), a red flag with the Union Jack in the upper staff quadrant of the flag, and

governmental ships fly the "Blue
Ensign" (flag for the use by the gouvernment => the actual state flag), a blue
flag with the Union Jack in the upper staff quadrant of the flag.

Since 1865 ships of colonial
governments were permitted to fly the Blue Ensign with a badge in the flying end of the
flag. The respective governments were asked to design appropriate badges. Merchant ships
and seafaring persons from colonies were only permitted to use the Red Ensign with a
badge, then also named Civil Ensign, if permission has been given to the respective colony
by the British admiralty.

The design
of the badge (respectively coat of arms) in the Flags of British colonies and dependent
territories may be placed on a white disk in the flying end of the ensign. If this is not
the case, the coat of arms will be presented in a larger format. It is even possible to
present either the blazon or the complete coat of arms; both variations are possible.

history:
1842 · as a result of the first opium war the Hong Kong Island gets ceded to Great
Britain
1860 · Great Britain purchases the Kowloon Peninsula and some smaller islands
1898 · Great Britain leases the New Territories Islands for 99 years
1941 · Japan occupys Hong Kong
1945 · the Japanese troops in Hong Kong surrender
1956 · granting of internal self government for Hong Kong
1984 · negotiations about the return of Hong Kong
1997 · Hong Kong becomes given back to China after the end of the leasing contract but
maintains leastways 50 years it's own legal, economy and society system, and Great Britain
maintaines the lawful duty for the defense of the existing freedoms in it's former colony
Hong Kong.